Selected letters and statements from the 114th Congress

On October 8, 2015, CGS President Dr. Suzanne Ortega sent comments to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s innovation and competitiveness working group offering suggestions on how the federal government can best build a STEM workforce. The working group is requesting stakeholder input as the Committee looks to reauthorize the America COMPETES law which is one of the federal government’s most critical investments in STEM education and innovation.

On August 21, 2015, CGS President Dr. Suzanne Ortega sent comments on current federal research and development (R&D) policy priorities to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s innovation and competitiveness working group. The working group is requesting stakeholder input as the Committee looks to reauthorize the America COMPETES law which is one of the federal government’s most critical investments in STEM education and innovation.

CGS submitted comments to the Department regarding the proposed changes to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income-based repayment program, referred to as Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE). As background, the negotiated rulemaking panel reached consensus in April on REPAYE and the public comment period closed on August 10, 2015. CGS expressed concerns that the final proposal may result in increasing the debt burden of graduate student borrowers, not based on any factor other than pursuit of an advanced degree. This is yet another example of a policy that creates an artificial distinction between undergraduate and graduate students, and has the potential to increase graduate student debt. CGS comments submitted were based on CGS’ original concerns when the rule was first proposed.

On May 12, CGS President Dr. Suzanne Ortega sent a letter to the Senate HELP Committee calling to their attention the CGS developed online resource, GradSense.org. During a hearing on this issue, the need for a debt-to-income tool similar to GradSense.org was mentioned.

On April 29, 2015, CGS President Dr. Suzanne Ortega sent comments to the Committee in response to the whitepaper titled, Risk Sharing: Concepts and Proposals. CGS called for focusing on incentives to implement best practices, rather than on penalties.

On November 20, CGS signed onto a community letter along with 53 higher education organizations and 535 institutions of higher education to Senate and House Leadership Offices, as well as the Appropriations Committees. The letter urged Congressional leaders to support a one-year extension of the Perkins Loan Program. The program, which makes low-cost loans available to college students with demonstrated financial need, is strongly supported across the full continuum of American higher education sectors.

On November 18, CGS, along with 11 education associations, signed onto a community letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offering comments to the proposed regulation amending its F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in STEM fields from U.S. institutions of higher education.

Community Letter to House & Senate Appropriations Committees in Support of FY2016 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill (11/16/2015)
On November 16, CGS signed onto a community letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees requesting that the Committees include higher education policy provisions within the FY2016 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bills. The letter mentions that both Committees previously passed legislation which included language prohibiting the Department of Education from taking any further action in FY2016 on several regulatory efforts. The higher education community prefers that any action taken on these issues be done through the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

On September 28, CGS signed onto a community letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions encouraging the Committee to consider legislation extending the Perkins Loans Program which is set to expire on October 1, 2015. The letter suggested the Committee put forward a bill similar to pending legislation in the House of Representatives that would extend the program’s authority for one year, which would provide policymakers additional time to evaluate student federal financial aid programs.

On September 28, CGS signed onto a community letter to the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 3594, a measure that would extend the Perkins Loan Program authority for one year. The program is set to expire on October 1, 2015. Additionally, the legislation extends authority for the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and the Student Financial Aid Advisory Committee.

On September 4, CGS along with16 higher education organizations submitted comments to the Department of Labor in response to recent proposed changes to overtime pay requirements for certain "white collar" employees, including postdocs. The letter was led by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). CGS has concerns with the regulation, including whether postdocs would continue to be exempt employees under the new regulation.

On August 12, 2015 the Task Force on American Innovation (TFAI), of which CGS is a member, sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s innovation and competitiveness working group expressing support for federally funded research. The Senate working group requested stakeholder input as the Committee looks to reauthorize the America COMPETES law which is one of the federal government’s most critical investments in STEM education and innovation.

CGS signed onto a community letter on July 22 to thank the Senate Finance Committee for including two year extensions of the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses (tuition deduction) and the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Charitable Rollover in the final tax extenders package.

CGS signed onto a community letter on July 17, encouraging policymakers to extend both the tuition deduction and IRA provisions which expired in 2014. A two year extension of the above-the-line tuition deduction would restore benefits to students and families, providing another tool to help reduce the cost of college. An extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover would provide colleges and universities with better predictability and a longer window of time to use this incentive to raise new or increased contributions at a time when private giving has becoming increasingly important to helping maintain access to higher education.

CGS signed on to the community statement “Innovation: An American Imperative,” led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and released June 23, 2015. The statement, which included signatures of over 250 industry, science, and higher education organizations, is a call to action urging Congress to enact policies that make investments to ensure that the United States remains a global innovation leader.

On June 23, 2015, CGS signed onto a community letter to the House of Representative’s Appropriations Committee offering support for the FY2016 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill for its emphasis on higher education. The letter was delivered prior to the full Appropriations Committee consideration of the bill on June 24, 2015. Community concerns with the bill are mentioned as well, including the $4 million decrease in funding for the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program, one of the few remaining federal programs that assists graduate students. The letter requests the Committee increase funding for GAANN as budget negotiations continue.

On May 19, 2015 the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), of which CGS is a member, sent a letter to the Senate and House appropriators expressing concern with the House FY2016 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. The science community is concerned with the report language accompanying the bill which requires NSF to dedicate 70 percent of its funding to only four research directorates, forcing the agency to reduce over $250 million, 16 percent of the combined budget, from the remaining two directorates: Geosciences and the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Such reductions would have a negative impact on the disciplinary and interdisciplinary research supported by these two directorates, impacting research as diverse as disaster prediction and recovery, prediction of extreme weather events, weak links in cybersecurity, children’s learning, and big data.

On April 15, 2015 CGS joined a community letter lead by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) regarding the importance of the tax-exempt status of colleges and universities. Without this exemption, colleges and universities would be subject to taxes on gifts received.

On February 23, 2015 CGS joined a community letter that was sent to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of H.R. 970, Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act. The legislation repeals three federal regulations that restrict choice and opportunity in higher education: the gainful employment regulation, the state authorization regulation, and the federal credit hour regulation. CGS heard from graduate deans that these three regulations could have a negative impact on the programs they offer.

On January 22, 2015 CGS joined a community letter organized by the American Council on Education and sent to the U.S. Senate in support of the Immigration Innovation Act of 2015 (“I-Squared bill”), recently introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). The legislation increases the H-1B cap for temporary work visas for programmers, engineers, and high-skilled workers. It also lifts the existing cap on the advanced degree exemption.

Selected letters and statements from the 113th Congress

On December 15, CGS sent written comments in response to the Census Bureau’s Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; The American Community Survey Content Review Results. CGS urged the Department of Commerce to retain Person Question 12 (Undergraduate Field of Degree), where respondents are asked to provide specific major(s) of any bachelor’s degrees received by the person with the highest degree in each household.

On December 16th CGS signed onto a community letter in conjunction with twenty-five higher education associations in response to the Census Bureau’s Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; The American Community Survey Content Review Results (FR Doc. 2014-25912). The letter urges the Census Bureau to retain Person Question No. 12 (Undergraduate Field of Degree) in the American Community Survey (ACS).

Community Letter to Senate-Labor-HHS Committee (11/24/2014)
On November 24, CGS signed onto a community letter to the Senate Labor-H subcommittee staff regarding Pell funding in the FY15 appropriations process. The letter expressed opposition to any effort to use funding taken from the Pell Grant Program for any other purpose in the FY 2015 education spending bill under consideration by the subcommittee.

TFAI Letter to Congress on FY15 Appropriations (11/17/2014)
On November 17, CGS signed onto a community letter along with 132 national organizations, requesting Congress pass a full-year FY15 omnibus appropriations bill with strong funding for research and higher education to help close the innovation deficit.

CGS issued a statement in response to the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (S. 365). The statement highlights the added burden needy graduate and professional students will now face due to the elimination of the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans. CGS urges Congress and the Administration to recognize and support graduate education as a strategic national asset.

Statement on the proposed elimination of the in-school interest subsidy for graduate and professional students (7/28/11)
CGS and a number of other higher education stakeholders sent a statement to Congressional members highlighting the importance of retaining the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students. The subsidy's elimination is included in the debt ceiling increase measures proposed by both House Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid. The statement urges Congress to retain the subsidy.

Letter to Deficit Reduction Group Members (6/22/11)
CGS continues to work with a coalition of organizations to urge retention of the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans for needy graduate and professional students. The coalition sent a letter to the six Congressional Members of the deficit reduction group led by Vice President Biden.

Letter to Senate HELP Committee and House Education and The Workforce Committee Leadership (6/13/11)
A coalition of organizations, of which CGS is a member, sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the leaders of the House Education and The Workforce Committee urging them to retain the in-school interest subsidy on Federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students as they negotiate FY 2012 funding legislation.

Letter to Senate and House Leadership (4/14/11)
A coalition of organizations, of which CGS is a member, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them to retain the in-school interest subsidy on Federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students as they negotiate FY 2011 and FY 2012 funding legislation.

Statement on the Reauthorization of H.R. 5116, the “America COMPETES Act” (1/12/11)
CGS issued a statement applauding Congress and the President for their work in reauthorizing the America COMPETES Act. The bill, which contains several provisions that recognize the role that graduate education plays in our nation's ability to maintain a highly-skilled workforce, was signed into law on January 4, 2011.

Joint CGS-ETS Statement on Administration Goal re. College Completion (8/11/10)
CGS issued a joint statement with ETS applauding President Obama's call for the U.S. to have the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020, noting that pursuing this goal would greatly increase the number of Americans on a potential pathway to graduate school.

Letter from Higher Education Community re. MSIs (6/19/09)
CGS signed onto a letter from the higher education community requesting continued funding for federal programs that support Minority-Serving Institutions. Letters were sent to Senate and House education and appropriations committee leadership.

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